Sunday, March 11, 2007

BD and I just got back from our marathon childbirth education class. It had it all--breathing exercises on the floor, play by plays of the various stages of labor, the pros and cons of the various drugs and pain management techniques, and, of course, the movie.

The teacher was a former Lamaze trainer and lactation consultant, so she definitely focused on the natural techniques. But she also did a nice job of outlining all of the options and discussed some scenarios when you'd want to go the epidural or narcotic routes. I appreciated her "get all the info you can, but then just see how it goes" approach.

The hospital seems really nice. All of the labor, delivery, and recover rooms are private, as are most of the post-partum rooms. The cafeteria was pretty decent, and there's a kitchen on the same floor as the labor, delivery, and recover rooms (hubbies are encouraged to fetch their own ice chips and snacks and stuff).

I wish I had more to say, but after nine hours of class, I'm pretty zonked.

3 comments:

So are you going to blog your birth plan? We know you're going to see how things go but what is the official plan of action? BD's role in the birth? Is he going to help deliver/catch? The people want to know!

Hi Chrissy and people who "want to know"-- I think our general birth plan is going to be to try to go natural, vaginal birth all the way. And it's really not because I think the side effects of the drugs are that problematic...I just don't like to be "tied down."

That being said, if too much pain leads to maternal stress which interferes with my progress...and if BD can't stand my whining any more...I will say "drugs please."

BD's role will be to deal with my whining, play gin rummy with me, rub my back with tennis balls, sneak me illicit milkshakes in the hospital, and coach me on my breathing. All BD activities (by request) will take place at the head, not the foot of the bed. He has expressed little interest in delivering/catching or cutting the chord.

All that being said, I know a bunch of people whose plans went out the window after pushing for 20 hours or finding out that their baby is breech. So really, who knows?

So is it true that you can get a manicure while you're there or is that just a rumor? Can you believe that this was the hospital we rejected in college? That's a smidge amusing. I laughed when neighbors said that they were going to deliver there a couple of years ago, but it's supposed to be really nice. It sounds like your plan is "get the kid out" and end the gender suspense and name suspense for the rest of us. Good plan - clear and straight to the point.